Designing objects having thermal interface properties for thermal conductivity

ABSTRACT

Embodiments described herein relate to designing an object having thermal interface properties to form a thermal interface between electronic components. An exposed surface of a first electronic component is electronically scanned. Measurement data associated with the exposed surface is derived based on the electronic scanning. The measurement data includes surface topography data. A thermal interface object having thermal interface properties is created based on the measurement data, which includes translating the first surface topography data to customize a first surface of the thermal interface object. The first surface of the thermal interface object is mated with the exposed surface of the first electronic component.

BACKGROUND

The embodiments described herein relate to a thermal interface between aheat source and a heat exchanger. More particularly, the embodimentsdescribed herein relate to designing a thermal interface to reducethermal resistance and effectively dissipate heat from the heat source.

A thermal interface material (TIM) is a material employed to reducethermal resistance at the interface of the heat source and the heatexchanger. The path of heat removal from an electronic package, such asa central processing unit (CPU), involves conduction across theinterface of the CPU case surface, through a TIM, into a heat exchanger,such as a heat sink, and then convection to the environment. Thermalresistance is a measure of how well heat is transferred across theinterface of two mating rigid surfaces, such as the CPU and the base ofa heat sink. The lowest possible interface resistance is reached whenthe heat sink temperature approaches that of the CPU.

The CPU and heat sink surfaces being joined contain a combination ofsurface roughness and surface non-flatness. On a macroscopic level, thisroughness is non-planar in the form of a concave, convex, or wavysurface, or a combination thereof across the surface. This roughnessresults in the interface being separated by air filled gaps without thepresence of TIM. Contact resistance may be reduced by increasing thearea of contact spots and using a TIM of high thermal conductivity thatcan conform to the imperfect surface features of the mating surfaces.

SUMMARY

The embodiments described herein relate to a method, a system, and anarticle for providing a thermal interface between electronic components.

According to one aspect, a method is provided for forming a thermalinterface between electronic components. An exposed surface of anelectronic component is electronically scanned. Measurement dataassociated with the exposed surface is derived based on the electronicscanning. The measurement data includes surface topography data. Athermal interface object having thermal interface properties is createdbased on the measurement data. The creation of the object includestranslating the surface topography data to customize a surface of thethermal interface object. Once created, the surface of the object ismated with the exposed surface of the component.

According to another aspect, a system is provided to form a thermalinterface between electronic components. The system includes a processorin communication with memory. One or more tools are in communicationwith the processor, including a scanner to measure surface topography.An exposed surface of an electronic component is placed in communicationwith the scanner and is scanned to ascertain the topography of anexposed surface. The processor derives measurement data associated withthe exposed surface based on the scanning. The measurement data includessurface topography data. A thermal interface object having thermalinterface properties is created based on the measurement data. Creationof the object includes translating the surface topography data to asurface of the thermal interface object, thereby customizing the objectwith respect to the scanned surface of the electronic component. Oncecreated, the surface of the thermal interface object is mated with theexposed surface of the component.

According to yet another aspect, a computer program product is providedto form a thermal interface between electronic components. The computerprogram product includes a computer-readable storage device havingcomputer-readable program code embodied therewith. The program code isexecutable by a processor to electronically scan an exposed surface ofan electronic component. Measurement data associated with the exposedsurface is derived based on the electronic scanning. The measurementdata includes surface topography data of the electronic component. Anobject having thermal interface properties is created based on themeasurement data, which includes program code to translate the surfacetopography data thereby customizing a first surface of the thermalinterface object to the exposed surface of the component. Once created,the surface of the thermal interface object is mated with the exposedsurface of the component.

Other features and advantages of this invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description of the presently preferredembodiment of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings referenced herein form a part of the specification.Features shown in the drawings are meant to be illustrative of only someembodiments of the invention, and not of all embodiments of theinvention unless otherwise explicitly indicated. Implications to thecontrary are otherwise not to be made.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart depicting a process for designing and forming anobject having thermal interface properties.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the process of employing the threedimensional thermal interface object created in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a comparisonbetween the formation of a thermal interface between an electroniccomponent and a heat sink using a conventionally created thermalinterface object, and the formation of the thermal interface objectbetween the electronic component and the heat sink as shown anddescribed in the processes of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a system to form a thermalinterface between an electronic component and a heat sink, according toan embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be readily understood that the components of the presentinvention, as generally described and illustrated in the Figures herein,may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of differentconfigurations. Thus, the following detailed description of theembodiments of the apparatus, system, and method of the presentinvention, as presented in the Figures, is not intended to limit thescope of the invention, as claimed, but is merely representative ofselected embodiments.

Reference throughout this specification to “a select embodiment,” “oneembodiment,” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus,appearances of the phrases “a select embodiment,” “in one embodiment,”or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specificationare not necessarily referring to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In thefollowing description, numerous specific details are provided, such asexamples of modules, etc., to provide a thorough understanding ofembodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art willrecognize, however, that the invention can be practiced without one ormore of the specific details, or with other methods, components,materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, oroperations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuringaspects of the invention.

The illustrated embodiments of the invention will be best understood byreference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by likenumerals throughout. The following description is intended only by wayof example, and simply illustrates certain selected embodiments ofdevices, systems, and processes that are consistent with the inventionas claimed herein.

In the following description of the embodiments, reference is made tothe accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and which shows byway of illustration the specific embodiment in which the invention maybe practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may beutilized because structural changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart (100) depicting a process for designing andforming an object having thermal interface properties to provide athermal interface between components. The thermal interface places twocomponents in thermal communication. For descriptive purposes, the firstcomponent is referred to herein as a heat generating component, such asbut not limited to a semiconductor, CPU, or alternative heat producingcomponent. Similarly, for descriptive purposes, the second component isreferred to herein as a heat sink employed to absorb heat from the firstcomponent. Accordingly, it is to be understood and appreciated that theembodiments described herein with respect to the first and secondelectronic components should not be limiting.

An exposed surface of the first component is characterized by anelectrical scan (102). In one embodiment, the characterization at step(102) utilizes laser technology for precise characterization. However,other known methods or technology for electrically scanning the firstexposed surface may be employed, and as such, the use of lasertechnology should not be considered limiting. Accordingly, the firstpart of the TIM object formation pertains to scanning or otherwisederiving topological features of the first component.

Measurement data associated with the first exposed surface is derivedbased on the electronic scanning (104). The measurement data derived atstep (104) may include, but is not limited to, surface topology dataassociated with the one or more scanned surfaces. In one embodiment, thederived measurement data is inverted (106) so that the scan data isreversed which may then be employed to create an inverted replica of thesurface topology and filling any gaps within the surface topology. Asindicated above, there are two exposed surfaces, one being thesemiconductor and one being the heat sink. The process shown in steps(102)-(106) pertains to the derivation of the exposed surface of thefirst component.

In one embodiment, the exposed surface of a second component ischaracterized by an electrical scan (108), using similar if not the sametechnology employed with the scan at step (102). Measurement dataassociated with the second exposed surface is derived based on the scanof the second exposed surface (110). The measurement data derived atstep (110) may include, but is not limited to, surface topology dataassociated with the second scanned surface.

After the topology of both of the exposed surfaces has been measured, anobject having thermal interface properties based on the derivedmeasurement data is created (112). In one embodiment, creating theobject at step (112) includes programming the inverted topology datainto a computer implemented or controlled machine such as a threedimensional printer. The programming may control a composition of theobject material based on relative surface position along the first andsecond exposed surfaces of the first and second components,respectively. For example, the composition may be controlled to fill airgaps that may form during mating of the surfaces due to irregularitiesin the respective topologies. Three dimensional printers are known inthe art, and a detailed description of how they operate will not befurther provided herein.

The object created at step (112) may be referred to as a thermalinterface material (TIM) object. In one embodiment, the TIM object isindium-based. However, other materials having high thermal conductivitymay be used in accordance with the embodiments described herein.

Following the creation of the TIM object in FIG. 1, the TIM object ismated to the exposed surfaces of the components to form the thermalinterface. Referring to FIG. 2, a flow chart (200) is providedillustrating the process of forming a thermal interface betweencomponents by employing the TIM object of FIG. 1. There are two exposedsurfaces, including a first exposed surface associated with the firstcomponent, e.g. a semi-conductor surface and a second exposed surfaceassociated with the second component, e.g. a heat sink surface. The TIMobject has two opposing surfaces, with a first of the TIM objectsurfaces being designed based on an inverted topology of the firstexposed surfaces, and a second of the TIM object surfaces being designedbased on an inverted topology of the second exposed surface. The firstsurface of the TIM object is mated with the first exposed surface of thefirst component (202). In one embodiment, the mating at step (202)includes applying the TIM object directly onto the first exposedsurface. Since the object was printed based on topology data associatedwith the exposed surfaces of first and second components, the firstsurface of the TIM object and the first exposed surface aresubstantially aligned during the mating at step (202). The secondelectronic component is placed in thermal communication with the firstcomponent (204) via the TIM object. In one embodiment, the placement atstep (204) includes placing the second exposed surface of the secondcomponent into contact with the remaining second surface of the TIMobject.

One advantage of manufacturing objects with respect to the process ofFIG. 1 and then attaching the created object as such in the process ofFIG. 2 is that the object is designed to substantially match thetopography of the exposed mating surfaces of the scanned first andsecond components. This results in more intimate contact between thecomponents, thereby minimizing the existence of air gaps to optimizethermal conductivity and heat removal, e.g. reduce thermal resistance.Furthermore, this process provides the ability to pattern a TIM acrossthe surface of an electronic component without stenciling or templatecreation for topological characteristics associated with each exposedsurface.

With reference to FIG. 3, a block diagram (300) is provided illustratingan exemplary comparison between the formation of a thermal interfacebetween the first component and the second component using aconventionally created thermal interface material (TIM), and theformation of the thermal interface object between the first componentand the second component as shown and described in the processes ofFIGS. 1 and 2 (e.g., by use of a 3D printer). As discussed above withreference to FIG. 1, the first electronic component may be a heatgenerating component (e.g., a semiconductor) or a heat dissipatingcomponent (e.g., a heat sink), with the second electronic componentbeing the other one.

The conventional use of a thermal interface material to mate between theexposed surfaces of the first and second components is shown anddescribed at (310). Namely, at (310) the TIM object (302) is shown matedto an exposed surface (304) of the first component, e.g. the heat sink(306). The second component (308), e.g. semiconductor, is shownadjacently positioned to the first component (306). The second component(308) includes a body (312) with an exposed surface (314) adapted toreceive the TIM object (302). Accordingly, at (310), the first andsecond components (306) and (308), respectively, and the TIM object(302) are shown prior to mating of the components.

At (320), the second component (308) is shown placed in communicationwith the first component (306) with an exposed surface (322) of the TIM(302) brought into contact with the exposed surface (314) of the secondcomponent (308). The formation of the thermal interface using theconventionally created TIM may result in the presence of one or more airgaps (330) and (332) between the first and second components. Aspreviously discussed, the presence of air gaps increases thermalresistance.

The aspect of employing the customized TIM objects shown and describedin the flow charts of FIGS. 1 and 2 is shown employed with thecomponents at (350). Namely, at (350) the TIM object (370) is shownmated to an exposed surface (354) of the first component, e.g. the heatsink (356). The second component (358), e.g. semiconductor, is shownadjacently positioned to the first component (356). The second component(358) includes a body (362) with an exposed surface (364) adapted toreceive the TIM object (370). Accordingly, at (350), the first andsecond components (356) and (358), respectively, and the TIM object(370) are shown prior to mating of the components.

At (380), the second component (358) is shown placed in communicationwith the first component (356) with an exposed surface (372) of the TIMobject (370) brought into contact with the second component (358). TheTIM object (370) includes three distinct areas, including a first area(382), a second area (384), and a third area (386). The second area(384) has the greatest area of contact between the first and secondcomponents (356) and (358), respectively. The first and third areas(382) and (386), respectively, have smaller mating areas, and eachinclude additional thermal interface material, as demonstrated by thefilled regions.

At (380), the TIM object (370) is shown forming a thermal interfacebetween the first and second components (356) and (358), respectively.As shown, there are no air gaps visible with the formation of thethermal interface. More specifically, the shape and profile of the TIMobject (370) at the first and third areas (382) and (386), respectively,fill the voids formed by the air gaps of the prior art. In oneembodiment, the TIM object (370) has an hourglass shape, with the firstand third areas (382) and (386) having a wider profile than the secondarea (384). Accordingly, the configuration of the TIM object (370),together with its custom configuration from the topological scanning andemployment thereof, mitigates formation of the air gaps, therebyreducing thermal resistance.

The processes shown and described in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be implementedand controlled with a computer. With reference to FIG. 4, a blockdiagram (400) is provided illustrating an example of a computersystem/server (402), hereinafter referred to as a host (402) to form athermal interface object, as described above with respect to FIGS. 1 and2, and to employ a thermal interface object to mate a semiconductor witha heat sink in a manner that reduces, if not eliminate thermalresistance. The host (402) is operational with numerous other generalpurpose or special purpose computing system environments orconfigurations. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments,and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with host (402)include, but are not limited to, personal computer systems, servercomputer systems, thin clients, thick clients, hand-held or laptopdevices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set topboxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputersystems, mainframe computer systems, and filesystems (e.g., distributedstorage environments and distributed cloud computing environments) thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Host (402) may be described in the general context of computersystem-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executedby a computer system. Generally, program modules may include routines,programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.Host (402) may be practiced in distributed cloud computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed cloud computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotecomputer system storage media including memory storage devices.

As shown in FIG. 4, host (402) is shown in the form of a general-purposecomputing device. The components of host (402) may include, but are notlimited to, one or more processors or processing units (404), a systemmemory (406), and a bus (408) that couples various system componentsincluding system memory (406) to processor (404). Bus (408) representsone or more of any of several types of bus structures, including amemory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, an acceleratedgraphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of a variety ofbus architectures. By way of example, such architectures includeIndustry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture(MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics StandardsAssociation (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnects(PCI) bus. Host (402) typically includes a variety of computer systemreadable media. Such media may be any available media that is accessibleby host (402) and it includes both volatile and non-volatile media,removable and non-removable media.

Memory (406) can include computer system readable media in the form ofvolatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) (412) and/or cachememory (414). Host (402) further includes other removable/non-removable,volatile/non-volatile computer system storage media. By way of exampleonly, storage system (416) can be provided for reading from and writingto a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media (not shown and typicallycalled a “hard drive”). Although not shown, a magnetic disk drive forreading from and writing to a removable, non-volatile magnetic disk(e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical disk drive for reading from orwriting to a removable, non-volatile optical disk such as a CD-ROM,DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided. In such instances, eachcan be connected to bus (408) by one or more data media interfaces. Aswill be further depicted and described below, memory (406) may includeat least one program product having a set (e.g., at least one) ofprogram modules that are configured to carry out the functions of theembodiments described above with reference to FIGS. 1-3.

Program/utility (418), having a set (at least one) of program modules(420), may be stored in memory (406) by way of example, and notlimitation, as well as an operating system, one or more applicationprograms, other program modules, and program data. Each of the operatingsystems, one or more application programs, other program modules, andprogram data or some combination thereof, may include an implementationof a networking environment. Program modules (420) generally carry outthe functions and/or methodologies of embodiments as described herein.For example, the set of program modules (420) may include at least onemodule that is configured to communicate with one or more tools toperform the process described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

Host (402) can communicate with one or more networks such as a localarea network (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a publicnetwork (e.g., the Internet) via network adapter (430). As depicted,network adapter (430) communicates with the other components of host(402) via bus (408). In one embodiment, a filesystem, such as adistributed storage system, may be in communication with the host (402)via the I/O interface (410) or via the network adapter (430). It shouldbe understood that although not shown, other hardware and/or softwarecomponents could be used in conjunction with host (402). Examples,include, but are not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundantprocessing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives,and data archival storage systems, etc.

Host (402) may also communicate with one or more external devices (440),such as a keyboard, a pointing device, etc.; a display (450); one ormore devices that enable a user to interact with host (402); and/or anydevices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enable host (402) tocommunicate with one or more other computing devices. Such communicationcan occur via Input/Output (I/O) interface(s) (410).

In one embodiment, the host (402) is in further communication with oneor more tools to design and create a thermal interface object. As shown,the one or more tools may include a scanning device (460) toelectronically scan at least a first exposed surface of at least a firstelectronic component. In one embodiment, the scanning device comprises alaser (465) to scan the topology of an exposed surface of the firstcomponent. The electronic scanning performed by the scanning device(460) is used to derive measurement data associated with the exposedsurface of the first component. First topological data (470) is derivedfrom the electronic scan and is stored in a first memory location, suchas a first location in memory. The first topological data (470) may bederived by the scanning device (460) itself, or by another externaldevice (not shown). Accordingly, the first topological data (470) ismeasurement data of the surface topology of the first component.

The scanning device (460) may also be further employed to electronicallyscan an exposed surface of a second electronic component in a similarmanner to the scan of the first component. Second topological data (480)is derived from the electronic scan of the second component and isstored in a second memory location, such as a second location in memory(406).

The surface topology data (470) and (480) are inverted, and the invertedaspects of the topology data (470) and (480) are programmed into amachine (490) to create a thermal interface object (495). In oneembodiment, the machine (490) is a three-dimensional (3D) printer toprint the thermal interface object. The programming may control acomposition of the thermal interface object material based on relativesurface position along the exposed surface of the electronic component.For example, the composition may be controlled to provide a morethermally conductive material along an area requiring greater heatremoval, as compared to other areas along the exposed surface of theelectronic component.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the aspects may beembodied as a system, method, or computer program product. Accordingly,the aspects may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, anentirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software,micro-code, etc.), or an embodiment combining software and hardwareaspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,”“module,” or “system.” Furthermore, the aspects described herein maytake the form of a computer program product embodied in one or morecomputer readable medium(s) having computer readable program codeembodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for the embodimentsdescribed herein may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

The embodiments are described above with reference to flow chartillustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), andcomputer program products. It will be understood that each block of theflow chart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations ofblocks in the flow chart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can beimplemented by computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus, create means for implementing thefunctions/acts specified in the flow chart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flow chart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions, which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus, provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flow chart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The flow charts and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments. In this regard, each block in the flow charts or blockdiagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, whichcomprises one or more executable instructions for implementing thespecified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in somealternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occurout of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown insuccession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or theblocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending uponthe functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flow chart illustration(s), and combinations ofblocks in the block diagrams and/or flow chart illustration(s), can beimplemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform thespecified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The embodiments described herein may be implemented in a system, amethod, and/or a computer program product. The computer program productmay include a computer readable storage medium (or media) havingcomputer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processorto carry out the embodiments described herein.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmissions, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

The embodiments are described herein with reference to flow chartillustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), andcomputer program products. It will be understood that each block of theflow chart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations ofblocks in the flow chart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can beimplemented by computer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flow chart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flow chart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

It will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of theinvention have been described herein for purposes of illustration,various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of protection of thisinvention is limited only by the following claims and their equivalents.

We claim:
 1. A method comprising: electronically scanning at least afirst exposed surface of at least a first electronic component; derivingfirst measurement data associated with at least the first exposedsurface based on the electronic scanning, wherein the first measurementdata comprises first surface topography data; creating a thermalinterface object having thermal interface properties based on the firstmeasurement data, including translating the first surface topographydata to customize a first surface of the thermal interface object; andmating the first surface of the thermal interface object with the firstexposed surface of the first component.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein translating the first topography data further comprisesinverting the first surface topography data, and wherein the object iscreated from the inverted first surface topography data.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein the thermal interface material is indium-based. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein creating the thermal interface objectfurther comprises printing a three dimensional object with a threedimensional printer, and wherein the object comprises a thermalinterface material.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising placingthe first component in thermal communication with a second electroniccomponent, including placing a second surface of the thermal interfaceobject into contact with the second component, wherein the thermalinterface object forms a thermal interface between the first and secondcomponents.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first component is aheat dissipating component, and the second component is a heatgenerating component.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:electronically scanning a second exposed surface of the secondcomponent; deriving second measurement data associated with the secondexposed surface based on the electronic scanning, wherein the secondmeasurement data comprises second topography data, and wherein creatingthe thermal interface object comprises translating the second topographydata to customize a second surface of the thermal interface object; andmating the second surface of the thermal interface object with thesecond exposed surface of the second electronic component.
 8. The methodof claim 5, wherein the thermal interface object forms a substantialthermal seal for mitigating thermal resistance between the first andsecond components.
 9. A system comprising: a processor in communicationwith memory; a scanner in communication with the processor, the scannerto electronically scan at least a first exposed surface of at least afirst electronic component, wherein the processor derives firstmeasurement data associated with the at least first exposed surfacebased on the electronic scanning, and where the first measurement datacomprises first surface topography data; a machine in communication withthe scanner, the machine to create an object having thermal interfaceproperties based on the measurement data, including translating thefirst surface topography data to customize a first surface of thethermal interface object; and a tool in communication with theprocessor, the tool to mate a first surface of the created object withthe first exposed surface of the first electronic component.
 10. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the machine is a three dimensional printer,and wherein creating the thermal interface object comprises the threedimensional printer to print the thermal interface object comprised of athermal interface material.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein thethermal interface material is indium-based.
 12. The system of claim 9,further comprising the processor to invert the surface topography data,wherein the object is created from the inverted surface topography data.13. The system of claim 9, further comprising the tool to place thefirst component in communication with a second electronic component,including the tool to place a second surface of the thermal interfaceobject into contact with a second exposed surface of the secondcomponent, wherein the thermal interface object forms a thermalinterface between the first and second components.
 14. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the first component is a heat generating component,and the second component is a heat dissipating component.
 15. The systemof claim 13, wherein the thermal interface object forms a substantialthermal seal for mitigating thermal resistance between the first andsecond components.
 16. The system of claim 15, further comprising thescanner to electronically scan the second exposed surface of the secondelectronic component.
 17. The system of claim 9, wherein the toolcomprises a laser to electronically scan the at least first exposedsurface.
 18. A computer program product comprising a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage device having computer program code embodiedtherewith, the program code executable by a processor to: electronicallyscan at least a first exposed surface of at least a first electroniccomponent; derive first measurement data associated with the at leastfirst exposed surface based on the electronic scanning, wherein themeasurement data comprises surface topography data; create a thermalinterface object having thermal interface properties based on the firstmeasurement data, including program code to translate the first surfacetopography data to customize a first surface of the thermal interfaceobject; and mate a first surface of the thermal interface object withthe first exposed surface of the first component.
 19. The computerprogram product of claim 18, further comprising program code to invertthe surface topography data, wherein the object is created from theinverted surface topography data.
 20. The computer program product ofclaim 18, further comprising program code to the first component incommunication with a second electronic component, including program codeto place a second surface of the thermal interface object into contactwith the second component, wherein the thermal interface object forms athermal interface between the first and second components, and whereinthe thermal interface object forms a substantial thermal seal formitigating thermal resistance between the first and second components.